It's not my favourite part of a design project - that stripped down to the bones - no floors and I mean NO floors at least no second floor at all and the first and third are sorta floored.... The house has a fire escape up the back which makes it a little bit easier to get upstairs vs say a series of 2x4 constructed ladders which would SO NOT BE HAPPENING. I have had to climb up to second floors that were lacking staircases before, it's not pretty. I'm terrified of heights. I also hate open hole stairs. Fire escapes are my definition of hell but I had to do it. I tried to get out of going up but Asa gave me that look that said "Stop being such a girl..." HA!

We're going to be working on the Main Entrance in the near future - we're going to tear down the upper portion of the side entrance and replace it with a flat roof open porch and then do an amazing front door including an arch. We're also going to do the back entrance in an amazing array of garden windows. Cannot wait.

We are oh so close to being done at Spruce Street. I shared with you the art walls that we were working on last week after I got back from #Hpmkt but I didn't let you in on our adorning the 5th wall - the floors.

I often choose my rugs after the rooms are pulled together. Now that I'm designing my own rug lines I find that I start with the rug and build out but that is actually harder for me to do. I suffer from FOMO even when it comes to rugs or fabrics (fear of missing out) it's why I like to not make all the choices at once when designing a room. Gives me the option to add in something unexpectedly fabulous to take the space to the next level. Why yes, I too have a fear of commitment especially when it comes to design. I lie awake at night stressing over the smallest of details.

What a week.  (I MEAN DID YOU SEE SCANDAL LAST NIGHT???) I know I say that all the time but this one was extra crazy however it was precision timed and I stuck to the timing for a change. It's the only reason why I managed to squeeze in as many meetings in all parts of Toronto area in. I felt VERY Gladiator aka Olivia Pope this week.

Our #Unionville project is a whole house and it's going to be a beaut. The kitchen as you may recall is from Aya Kitchens and includes the never before done CUSTOM COLOUR. Apparently the installers were uber impressed and I mean I know it's only a variation of say a black or a charcoal but it is deliciously different enough and it's truly magnificent. Aya has been a dream to work with from design to installation. Our electrician commented on how easy and professional the installers were to deal with. I can't COUNT the number of times I've had to play referee between different trades on a site. It's like they all become tattle tale Kindergarteners on me. This however, was not the case. Lots of sharing going on in the sandbox to our clients' great pleasure.

Hardware and crown/freize going in today - and we're ready for counters to be templated.

What a fabulous way to end the week!

My facebook and instagram feeds have been inundated with comments and questions every time I post a progress picture from our collaboration with Home Depot Canada. It usually goes like this: 

Meredith posts amazing photo.

Half a dozen people comment: "My Home Depot sure doesn't have that stuff."

Or "You got THAT from Home Depot?" (drips with incredulousness)

To each and every one I answer  "YUP!!!"

I think so many shoppers are plagued by the  "If I don't see it, it doesn't exist" mentality of shopping. It has to hit them over the head before they even notice it. I'm guilty of that on a few occasions. Now I also worked for Home Depot for 4 years and know that up there on those giant racks, the most amazing things are sometimes hidden. The bottom line is you have to ask. Find someone in an orange apron who can assist you. Always ask about their special order programs. Special Order doesn't always mean Mucho Dollars. It just means that they don't stock it at the store level or at that particular store.

Here's my other tip to anyone who thinks that they must only purchase off the shelf - familiarize yourself with the brands that Home Depot features/carries and then go on line and see what else they have. That's what I did with the Kohler faucets. I knew the styles I was interested in and then once I had their names, I looked them up on Home Depot's website and sure enough, there they were!! I may have found the Pinstripe knobs from them first. Octagon knobs of my dreams that they are. I didn't realize that there was an entire matching collection of toilet roll holders/towel holders etc. Janet the kitchen designer I was working with shared all of that with me and I couldn't agree to them fast enough.

With our floor tiles now installed, everyone who sees them thinks we went high end marble dealer. Their mouthes hit the floor when we say Home Depot. It's there on the shelves pretty much any and every time I've been there in the last few years. So the next time you are in to pick up lightbulbs or getting a key cut, take a look around and explore all that they have to offer. Who knows where it will lead!

A dear friend and client was over for dinner on the weekend. We are getting ready to have her house shot for a fabulous magazine and we are overhauling the family room off of the kitchen in anticipation of this. The kitchen is spectacular but the family room is just not coming up to snuff with the direction we ended up taking in the kitchen. This is one of those issues that can arise when you phase projects. The living room in the house is this weird transition space that they actually use as more of a sitting room/computer area so the plan is to move the very nice furniture we chose for the family room into the living room and then purchase new family room furniture.

I received some new fabrics the other day and I laid eyes on one such fabric and decided it was a MUST. We also have the Robert Allen Landsmeer and know that they both love it and it works amazing with the kitchen. The last time I was at their house, we discussed moving the furniture and layout in the room and opt for a sectional sofa to go in the corner and to put the TV over the gas fireplace. I'm not usally a fan of that, but this would make the room more functional in terms of entertaining so I'm game. We'll have to change the fireplace out - lower the mantle and change the look and feel to account for the tv.

I pitched my idea of the fabric for the sofa to the wife this weekend. She's game. She has a love of midcentury and this integrates a vintage flavour with the new look in the kitchen. We both know that the her husband will be shocked by our choice. TOTALLY out of his comfort zone. I'm advocating NOT telling him. Is that wrong? He's a sweetheart but I can't risk having my heart broken over this. I don't think using the fabric as pillows will do it justice. I'm all in favour of a solid fabric as the ottoman and the Landsmeer water colour fabric on a pair of chairs.... 

What do you think? Am I crazy? Should we just surprise him? It is brilliant non?